Household Appliance with a lye Container

ABSTRACT

A household appliance having a detergent container at least partially formed from plastic defining a plastic area and further including at least one ballast weight having a plastic body attached to the detergent container, wherein a mechanical connection of the plastic body of the ballast weight to the plastic area of the detergent container is formed using a plastic welding process. The household appliance includes at least one raised connecting element formed on at least one of the plastic body of the ballast weight and the plastic area of the detergent container, configured for contact with a contact surface of at least one of the plastic body to be connected and the plastic area to be connected, wherein the at least one raised connecting element is configured for bonded connection to the contact surface using a plastic welding process.

The invention relates to a household appliance, having a lye container,which at least in part is embodied in plastic, and having at least oneballast weight with at least one plastic body, which is attached to thelye container, where the mechanical connection of the plastic body ofthe ballast weight to a plastic area of the lye container is created bymeans of a plastic welding process.

Besides the attachment of ballast weights by means of friction and/orform fit using screws or a tension band, fixing by means of a plasticwelding process is also known. DE 693 07 668 T2 thus discloses a washingmachine or a combined washer/dryer, in which at least one ballast weightis attached to a lye container made of plastic. The ballast weight has ahollow plastic container which can be filled with water as the ballastmaterial. The plastic container has a plastic outrigger element, whichfits together precisely and thus in a form-fit manner with acorresponding plastic outrigger element on the lye container. Theplastic container is arranged on the lye container in such a way thatthe two plastic outrigger elements are connected in a form-fit manner,where the pairs of matching outrigger elements are permanently connectedto each other after joining by plastic welding of the plastic material.In addition to this DE 693 07 668 T2 also mentions the prior art wherebyconcrete blocks completely surrounded by a plastic covering are employedas ballast weights. Connection of this plastic covering to a lyecontainer by means of a plastic welding process is also known from this.The fixing of the ballast weights to a lye container in the case ofknown household appliances requires a relatively high degree of effort.In all cases a form fit between the elements must first be established.

The object of the present invention is thus to create a householdappliance of the kind specified at the outset, in which a connectionbetween a ballast weight and a lye container can be embodied with littleeffort and a high degree of security. This object is achieved by ahousehold appliance having the features as characterized in claim 1.

In a household appliance according to the invention, at least one raisedconnecting element is embodied on the plastic body of the ballast weightand/or on the plastic area of the lye container, which can come intocontact with a contact surface of the plastic area or the plastic bodyto be connected, where the raised connecting elements can be connectedin a bonded manner with the contact surface by means of a plasticwelding process.

The household appliance comprises at least one ballast weight, where theballast weight has at least one plastic body. The ballast weight isattached to the lye container, where the mechanical connection betweenthe plastic body of the ballast weight and a plastic area of the lyecontainer is effected by means of a plastic welding process.

In the case of a dishwasher as the household appliance, instead of beingattached to a lye container the ballast weight can also be attached to aplastic housing section in the same manner. An essential idea of theinvention is specifically that at least one raised connecting element isembodied on the plastic body of the ballast weight or the plastic area,to which the ballast weight is to be attached, which is brought intocontact with the contact surface of the plastic area to be connected,and the raised connecting element can subsequently be connected in abonded manner to the contact surface by means of the plastic weldingprocess, in order to create the mechanical connection between theplastic areas.

The mechanical connection between the ballast weight and the lyecontainer can thus be embodied with little effort, but nonetheless in asecure manner. Prior form fit joining of the ballast weight to the lyecontainer is no longer required. The raised connecting element hereextends in the direction of the contact surface of the plastic area withwhich the connecting element is to be connected in a bonded manner, thusenabling simple execution of the connection by means of a plasticwelding process.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are indicated in thesubclaims, and can be combined individually or in any combination witheach other or with the invention according to claim 1.

In an advantageous manner the ballast weight is embodied by at least twosolids, with one material being the plastic body, and at least onefurther part of the body made of a solid material being connected withthe plastic body. The second solid is preferably concrete or a concretecompound. An appropriate heavy ballast weight can thus be created whichis especially suitable as a counterweight. The second solid can,however, also be gray cast iron or cast steel.

Such ballast weights attached to a lye container serve, in the case of awashing machine, to counterbalance this lye container, that is toincrease its inertia and consequently to limit the oscillationsgenerated in the lye container during a spin phase. This is thenparticularly advantageous if a drum of the washing machine is filledwith items of laundry, and driven at a relatively high rotational speed.The aforementioned oscillations are brought about by conditions arisingas a result of the uneven distribution of laundry items over thecylindrical wall of the drum.

In the case of a dishwasher, the ballast weight can, however, also beattached to a rear housing section embodied in plastic. Here, theballast weight serves to offset at the rear the weight of thefront-opening door of the dishwasher, so that the dishwasher does nottip forwards when the door is open.

Advantageously, the plastic body of the ballast weight extends in partinto the second solid. In particular, provision can be made for thesecond material to be completely interspersed by the plastic body of theballast weight. In this way dual-material ballast weights can becreated, which can be embodied in a large number of different ways. Inparticular variable shapes of these two materials can here beimplemented, which can be optimized with respect to the arrangement ofthe ballast weight on the lye container or on the housing section and inthe household appliance.

Advantageously, the raised connecting elements are embodied in themanner of ribs. The connecting elements can, however, be embodied in anyother shape which results in a raised structure of the connectingelements compared with the remainder of the plastic area. The connectingelements can, for example, be embodied in the form of pins, spikes orcones. Here too, an optimized shape can be selected depending on thesituation and with respect to the requirements of the ballast weight(space requirements, strength, etc.).

Provision can be made for the plastic body of the ballast weight to beembodied in the form of a hook or a comb. On the one hand the connectionof the plastic body to the second material of the ballast weight canthereby be improved and on the other the best possible mechanicalconnection with the plastic area of the lye container with respect tostrength can be achieved.

Provision can be made for the connecting element or connecting elementsto be embodied on the lye container, and for connection to the plasticbody of the ballast weight to be contactable with an essentially uniformcontact surface of the plastic body of the ballast weight. Equally,however, provision can also be made for the connecting elements to beembodied on the ballast weight, and to be contactable with anessentially uniform contact surface of the plastic area of the lyecontainer.

Advantageously, a multiplicity of raised and preferably similarlyoriented connecting elements is embodied on the plastic area or on theplastic body. It is also possible here to embody connecting elements onthe contact surfaces of the parts to be connected with each other, andto weld these together. According to a further development of theinvention, by means of multiplicity of connecting elements a number ofcontact areas can be created with the plastic area to be connected, bywhich the strength of the mechanical connection can be improved.

Provision can be made for the ballast weight to have at least twoseparate plastic bodies which are connected with a connecting stud. Theconnecting stud is preferably embodied in plastic. Provision can,however, also be made for the arrangement of a reinforced wire for theconnection of at least two plastic bodies. The connection between atleast two separate plastic bodies of the ballast weight can thereby beembodied in many different ways.

Provision can be made for the connecting stud and/or the reinforced wireto be surrounded, at least in part, by the second material of theballast weight. This can, for example, be cast in the second material. Apermanent connection between the materials can thereby be created, and apositionally stable arrangement at least of the connecting studs can beguaranteed.

The ballast weight can be embodied in cuboid or annular form. The formof the ballast weight is, however, not restricted thereby and can alsobe embodied in many other ways.

The connecting element is preferably integrated into the assignedplastic body. The plastic body and the connecting elements can therebybe manufactured in one piece. A single body can for example bemanufactured here by means of injection molding.

The household appliance is advantageously embodied as a dishwasher, as awashing machine or as a combined washer/dryer.

The invention is described below in greater detail on the basis ofexemplary embodiments shown in diagrammatic form. Where:

FIG. 1 shows part of the frontal aspect of a lye container, to which isto be attached a ballast weight with a plastic body with its ownconnecting elements;

FIG. 2 shows part of the frontal aspect of a lye container withconnecting elements, to which a ballast weight with a smooth-surfacedplastic body is to be attached;

FIG. 3 to FIG. 7 show a number of different embodiments of a ballastweight according to the invention,

FIG. 8 shows a view of contact surfaces of a ballast weight embodied inthe shape of a crescent.

FIG. 9 shows a ballast weight with connecting elements which is to beattached to the mantle surface of a lye containers,

and FIG. 10 shows a ballast weight with a smooth contact surface, whichis to be attached to a mantle surface of a lye container structured bymeans of connecting elements.

The section shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1 shows part of a lyecontainer 1 of a washing machine (not shown), to the front wall of which11 a ballast weight 2 is to be attached. The contact surface 11 a isprovided for this purpose.

Besides the ballast weights shown here, such ballast weights could alsobe used, in which the plastic body takes the form of a plastic massdistributed in a concrete mixture. Amorphous and part-crystallinethermoplastic either with or without aggregates may, for example, beconsidered for this purpose. This can moreover also apply at least tothe contact surface(s) of the lye container 1.

In the exemplary embodiments, the ballast weight 2 is embodied as twodifferent parts made of solid materials. The ballast weight 2 here has aplastic body 21, which is embedded in a second body, the ballast body22, which is made of concrete. Plastic body 21 and ballast body 22 areconnected to each other in a form-fitted and force-fitted manner. InFIG. 1 the ballast weight 2 is embodied as a cuboid.

According to FIG. 1, the plastic body 21 is embodied in a comb-like formon its side facing the contact surface 11 a of the lye container 1, andthus has three raised connecting elements 21 a, 21 b and 21 c. Theseconnecting elements 21 a to 21 c protrude from the plastic body 21 andessentially extend in the same direction. In the exemplary embodiment,these raised connecting elements 21 a to 21 c are embodied as ribs.

In addition the plastic body 21 has cross-sectionally longitudinalextensions 21 d and 21 e, which extend in the direction of the ballastbody 22, and are completely surrounded by the concrete of the ballastbody 22.

For connection of the ballast weights 2 to the front wall 11 of the lyecontainer 1, the raised connecting elements 21 a to 21 c of the ballastweight 2 are arranged on the contact surface 11 a. This gives rise to amechanical contact between the contact surface 11 a and these threeconnecting elements 21 a to 21 c. By means of a plastic welding process,for example vibration welding or mirror welding, a molten massconnection between the plastic body 21 of the ballast weight 2 and thefront wall 11 of the lye container 1 is created. A bonded connectionwith the contact surface 11 a is here established through melting of theraised connecting elements 21 a to 21 c. The raised connecting elements21 a to 21 c here serve as the material supply for melt material, whichafter establishment of the connection becomes part of this connection.

According to the exemplary embodiments, the mechanical connection thenestablished between the ballast weight 2 and the lye container 1 iscreated in such a way that in the event of heating, in particular of theplastics in the lye container 1 and the ballast weight 2, thisconnection cannot loosen. To this end, the contact surface 11 a on thelye container 1 is matched to the corresponding connection surface ofthe plastic body 21 of the ballast weight 2, and in particular to theconnection surfaces of the raised connecting elements 21 a to 21 c. Thesize of the connection surfaces between the plastic body 21, inparticular its raised connecting elements 21 a and 21 c, and the contactsurface 11 a of the lye container 1, can be chosen according to theforces to be anticipated.

In addition, the form and force fit connection between the plastic body21 and the concrete body 22 can withstand heat caused by the heating-upof the lye and any operating forces generated during the spinning of adrum of the washing machine.

FIG. 2 shows a second general embodiment of the ballast weight 2 and ofthe lye container 1. In contrast to the example shown in FIG. 1, noraised connecting elements are here embodied on the plastic body 21.Here, only a contact surface 21 f is embodied on the ballast weight 2,which faces towards the front wall 11 of the lye container 1. Theconnection between the plastic body 21 and the concrete body 22 isembodied in a similar manner as shown in FIG. 1.

Here the contact surface of the front wall 11 of the lye containers 1has raised connecting elements 11 b and 11 c. The number of these hasbeen selected solely by way of example, and can preferably vary upwards.The connecting elements 11 b and 11 c extend in one piece from the frontwall 11. To prepare the connection, the contact surface 21 f of theplastic body 21 of the ballast weights 2 is brought into contact withthe raised connecting elements 11 b and 11 c. A plastic welding processis then used to create the bonded connection.

The sectional view in FIG. 3 of a further exemplary embodiment of aballast weight 2 shows the concrete body 22 partially encased by theplastic body 21. Here, the contact surface 21 f extends over the entirewidth of the concrete body 22. The extremities 21 d and 21 e here extendfrom the side into the interior of the concrete body 22, and aresurrounded by its concrete material. Otherwise than shown here, theconcrete body 22 can be entirely encased in the plastic body 21.

In cross section, the ballast weights according to FIG. 3 to 7 arebroadly trapezoidal in form, but likewise have a longer extensionvertically relative to the level of the diagram. The ballast weights 2in FIGS. 2 and 3 have the advantage that their contact surfaces 21 f areembodied in completely smooth form and can thus be freed of concreteresidues in a simple manner. Additionally in the case of an embodimentof this kind, in which a flat area 21 f is embodied on the ballastweight 2 and the raised connecting elements 11 b and 11 c on the washingliquor container 1, connection by means of vibration welding isadvantageous.

The exemplary embodiment of a ballast weight 2 according to FIG. 4 hastwo plastic bodies 21, which partially penetrate into the concrete body22. The two plastic bodies 21 are T-shaped in cross section (reversed T)and are connected with a connecting stud 23, which is a one-pieceelement of the plastic body 21. The connecting stud 23 is herecompletely surrounded by the concrete material of the concrete body 22.Parts of the plastic body 21, specifically the cross-pieces of the T,extend outwards from the concrete body 22. On these are embodied contactsurfaces 21 f, which are connected with raised connecting elements 11 band 11 c to the lye container 1 according to FIG. 2.

As in FIG. 4, the ballast weights 2 in FIG. 5 are provided with plasticbodies 21, which penetrate the concrete body 22. Instead of theconnecting stud 23 in FIG. 4, however, the plastic bodies 21 within theconcrete body 22 are connected to each other by means of a reinforcedwire 3. The reinforced wire 3 can however also be provided in additionto the connecting stud 23, in order to secure the connection of the twoplastic bodies 21. A multiplicity of connecting studs 23 and/or amultiplicity of reinforced wires 3 can also be provided for. Thereinforced wire 3 or multiplicity thereof primarily serve, however, tostabilize the concrete body, and can be used in the manner shown toanchor the plastic body or bodies 21 in the concrete, and if applicableas a means of connecting them to each other.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment varying in principle from the previousembodiment of the ballast weight 2, the plastic body 21 of which isembodied in a pipe-like form and completely intersperses the concretebody 22. Here too, however, contact surfaces 21 f are embodied, whichserve to provide the connection with raised connecting elements on thelye container 1. The pipe-shaped plastic body 21 has at both endsflanges 24, which closely abut the broad exterior surfaces of theconcrete body 22.

The ballast weight 2 according to FIG. 7 has two essentially strip-likeplastic bodies 21 of rectangular cross section. They are likewiseconnected to the concrete body 22 in such a way that they partiallypenetrate the concrete body. In a similar manner to a connecting stud 23according to FIG. 4, however, the two plastic body strips 21 areconnected to each other via a curved connecting stud 25. Connecting stud25 penetrates the concrete body 22 only partially, so that it isconnected to it by means of form fit and force fit. Connecting elements21 a embodied on the outer strip edges of the plastic body 21 serve tocreate a connection with a flat-faced area, for example the contactsurface 11 a in FIG. 1 of the lye container 1. In addition, however,further connecting elements can also be embodied on the exterior of theconnecting stud 25.

FIG. 8 shows a ballast weight 2, viewed across its large surface, thushere the contact surfaces facing the front wall of the lye container 1.The curved embodiment of the ballast weight 2 follows the shape of thecontact surface 11 a on the front wall of the lye container 1, whichextends in a ring around a loading aperture (not shown) of the lyecontainer's front wall 11. Based on this view, different shapes ofcontact surface are shown on the plastic body 21. Circular, rectangularand annular surfaces are shown, which are indented from the lateral edgeof the ballast weight 2, as well as a contact surface which extendsacross the entire width of the ballast weight 2, representative of thefact that a practically unlimited number of embodiments is possible.

Each of these contact surfaces of the plastic body 21 can have at leastone raised connecting element 21 a (not shown). Provision can also bemade, however, for at least one of these plastic bodies 21 to have aflat-faced area 21 f (not shown) which can be connected in a bondedmanner with at least one raised connecting element of the lye container.

Finally, FIGS. 9 and 10 show a cross-sectional view of ballast weights32 shaped in such a way that their contact surface 31 to the lyecontainer 1 they follow the curve of the mantle surface 12 of the lyecontainer 1. Here, as in the remaining examples, the contact surfaces 31can be embodied on plastic bodies of the ballast weights 32; accordinglyno detailed representation of the embodiment is provided here. In asimilar manner to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the contact surfaces 31of the ballast weight 32 and/or the contact surfaces on the lyecontainer mantle 12 can be provided with connecting elements 33 or 13,in order to be equipped for connection through the use of a plasticwelding process, in preparation for which the ballast weights arepressed onto the contact surface on the lye container mantle 12 in thedirection of the arrow.

As a result of the various forms of embodiment of the ballast weight 2,a very wide variety of shapes can thus be created which are embodiedfrom two solids. Besides low-cost concrete, only relatively simpleplastic parts are required, which can be inserted into the mold duringmanufacture of the concrete parts. A simple embodiment of the entireballast weight 2 can thereby be realized, even if the respective shapesof the concrete body 22 and the plastic body 21 are embodied in morecomplex form. Cost-effective realization of the ballast weight 2 can beguaranteed through the choice of material.

A rapid and secure connection can be created by means of the plasticwelding process, whereby the welded connections can be produced fullyautomatically in a simple welding plant without further additives. Thewelded connections can be realizable for attaching a ballast weight to afront wall or to a mantle or to a base of the lye container. In additionthe welded connections are suitable for oscillating systems with highspin speeds, because load forces are directed into the componentsconcerned over a wide area, so that the tension in the mechanicalconnection is very small.

1-14. (canceled)
 15. A household appliance having a detergent containerat least partially formed from plastic defining a plastic area andfurther including at least one ballast weight having a plastic bodyattached to the detergent container, wherein a mechanical connection ofthe plastic body of the ballast weight to the plastic area of thedetergent container is formed using a plastic welding process, thehousehold appliance comprising at least one raised connecting elementformed on at least one of the plastic body of the ballast weight and theplastic area of the detergent container, configured for contact with acontact surface of at least one of the plastic body to be connected andthe plastic area to be connected, wherein the at least one raisedconnecting element is configured for bonded connection to the contactsurface using a plastic welding process.
 16. The household applianceaccording to claim 15 wherein the plastic body of the ballast weight isembedded in a second solid.
 17. The household appliance according toclaim 16 wherein the second solid is formed as a concrete body formedfrom at least one of concrete and a concrete compound.
 18. The householdappliance according to claim 17 wherein the plastic body of the ballastweight is present as a distributed mixture in the concrete compound. 19.The household appliance according to claim 17 wherein the plastic bodyof the ballast weight partially extends into the concrete body, inparticular completely intersperses the concrete body.
 20. The householdappliance according to claim 15 wherein the connecting element is in aribbed form.
 21. The household appliance according to claim 15 whereinthe plastic body of the ballast weight is formed as at least one of ahook and a comb.
 22. The household appliance according to claim 15wherein the connecting element is formed on the detergent container andconfigured for connection to an essentially uniform contact surface ofthe plastic body of the ballast weight.
 23. The household applianceaccording to claim 15 wherein a plurality of raised and preferablysimilarly oriented connecting elements is formed on at least one of theplastic body of the ballast weight and the plastic area of the detergentcontainer.
 24. The household appliance according to claim 15 wherein theballast weight has at least two separate plastic bodies connected withat least one of a connecting stud and reinforced wire.
 25. The householdappliance according to claim 24 wherein the connecting stud is formedfrom plastic.
 26. The household appliance according to claim 15 whereinthe ballast weight is formed as at least one of a general cuboid, anannular form and a ring segment.
 27. The household appliance accordingto claim 15 wherein the raised connecting element is integrated in atleast one of the plastic area and the plastic body.
 28. The householdappliance according to claim 15 wherein the appliance is formed as atleast one of a dishwasher, a washing machine and a combinedwasher/dryer.